Android SDK 4.28.0 modernizes background audio, introduces more control over audio interruptions, and expands Chromecast support to live and DVR streams. The release also improves playback reliability, offline downloads, and DRM handling.

Modernized background audio

Background audio now uses AndroidX Media3 MediaSessionService, with:

• Simpler setup: Enable background audio through MediaServiceController.enable(...).
• Custom notification controls: Configure controls with NotificationButton.
• Optional audio focus handling: Pause playback during interruptions and resume after temporary interruptions when appropriate. Disabled by default.

Upgrade considerations

The SDK now declares MediaService automatically, and notification titles, text, and artwork come from playlist items. Existing custom notification actions remain supported but are deprecated, along with MediaSessionHelper.

Developers using local AAR installations or exhaustive pause-reason handling should review the Android SDK changelog for additional upgrade requirements.

See Enable Background Audio (Android) for implementation guidance.

Live and DVR Chromecast support

Viewers can now cast live and DVR streams to Chromecast devices. Live playback controls appear on the sender device, while DVR streams support seeking and preservation of the viewer's playback position when applicable.

Playback reliability improvements

This release also improves playlist transitions and error recovery, reduces thumbnail memory usage, and provides clearer offline download failure information. Additional fixes address offline Widevine playback, captions, advertisements, and playback stability.

For the complete list of changes, see the Android SDK changelog.

Vertical Video Discovery now uses motion thumbnails by default in Carousel mode, reducing streaming bandwidth. Publishers can also display click-to-action (CTA) buttons directly on carousel cards.

New Features

Motion thumbnail previews

When Autoplay or Hover to play is selected in Carousel mode, video cards now play muted motion thumbnails instead of streaming the full video. Selecting a video still opens the full video with sound.

The new Carousel preview setting on the Experience tab provides two options:

• Motion thumbnail: (Default) Plays a short video preview for faster loading and reduced streaming bandwidth.
• Full video: Plays the full video in the carousel, using more streaming bandwidth.

When Motion thumbnail is selected, videos without a motion thumbnail display the click-to-play state. To provide motion thumbnails, enable the delivery of auto-generated motion thumbnails or upload your own.

Learn more about configuring the Vertical Video experience.

CTA buttons on carousel cards

The CTA button setting on the Experience tab now includes a Show on carousel cards option, which is off by default.

When enabled, this option displays CTA buttons directly on carousel cards. Selecting a button opens the configured URL in a new tab.

Learn more about enabling and customizing the Vertical Video CTA button.

JWX now automatically generates captions for new hosted uploads.

New Feature

When you upload a new video, JWX generates a caption track from the video’s primary audio track in the language spoken in the audio. Auto-generated captions are available to all customers at no additional cost.

Auto-generated caption tracks are saved as drafts so you can review them before making them visible to viewers. To publish these tracks automatically, you can enable automatic publishing in your property settings.

If you need guaranteed caption accuracy, contact your JWX account team.

Learn more about captions. 

iOS SDK 4.28.2 improves playback reliability for Google IMA ads and AirPlay, resolves a player stability issue, and provides updated installation guidance ahead of the CocoaPods Trunk transition to read-only.

Bug Fixes

• On iOS versions earlier than 26.6, an unresponsive Google IMA preroll no longer prevents content playback. The player allows the ad to play to its expected end before resuming content and reporting ad warning 70014.
• Content now resumes at its previous position after an AirPlay midroll instead of restarting from the beginning.
• Concurrent access to video quality levels and audio tracks no longer causes the player to crash.

Deprecation

JWX iOS SDK 4.28.2 is the final version published to CocoaPods.

CocoaPods has announced that its Trunk repository will become read-only on December 2, 2026. After this date, new package versions can no longer be published through CocoaPods Trunk.

As a result, developers should use Swift Package Manager (SPM) or manual installation for future JWX iOS SDK updates and supported Google IMA/DAI ad client dependencies.

The following documentation has been updated to reflect these installation methods:

• Add the SDK (iOS): Instructions for adding the JWX iOS SDK
• Google IMA and DAI (iOS): Instructions for adding Google IMA/DAI ad client dependencies

For additional release technical details, see the iOS Changelog.

You can now create Broadcast Live streams that deliver audio without a video track. JWX ingests a live audio feed and publishes HLS and DASH manifests containing AAC audio renditions, making Broadcast Live suitable for radio channels, commentary feeds, and other audio-only events.

New Features

This update includes the following capabilities:

• Audio-only stream mode: Set stream_mode to audio_only when you create a live stream. JWX encodes and packages the audio without creating a video rendition ladder. Existing streams and new streams that omit stream_mode continue to use the default audio_video mode.
• HLS and DASH delivery: Audio-only streams publish standard HLS and DASH manifests with AAC audio renditions for playback in JWX Player and other compatible players.
• Event and 24/7 support: Use audio-only mode with both Live event and 24/7 stream types.
• Audio-only live-to-VOD: When live-to-VOD is enabled, JWX captures the stream as an audio-only media item. It does not generate video renditions, thumbnails, or seek thumbnails.

CMAF VOD now supports AV1, a royalty-free, next-generation video codec. JWX can transcode source media into AV1 renditions, or you can upload pre-encoded AV1 renditions for delivery through HLS and DASH.

New Features

This update includes the following AV1 capabilities:

• AV1 transcoding: Use a custom transcoding config to create AV1 renditions from uploaded source media.
• Bring your own renditions: Upload pre-encoded AV1 renditions that meet the CMAF VOD rendition guidelines.
• Mixed-codec delivery: Deliver AV1 on its own or alongside AVC or HEVC renditions in the same HLS and DASH manifests. Devices without AV1 support automatically play a compatible rendition.
• Up to 4K resolution: Create and deliver AV1 renditions at resolutions up to 4K.
• CMAF VOD feature support: Use AV1 renditions with server-side ad insertion (SSAI), JWX DRM, and streaming analytics.

NOTE: AV1 is not included with standard Media Management and requires custom pricing and the premium transcoding entitlement. Contact your JWX representative to discuss availability and configure AV1 transcoding. Because AV1 takes longer to encode than AVC, account for additional processing time when planning large library ingests.

You can now upload source files through the JWX dashboard using the CMAF VOD workflow. Select CMAF VOD during upload, and JWX uses a transcoding config to automatically create a complete rendition ladder from the source file.

New Features

The JWX dashboard now supports the following CMAF VOD capabilities:

• Upload and transcode CMAF VOD: Upload a media file or URL in the dashboard, and JWX transcodes it into CMAF renditions. Pre-encoded renditions are no longer required.
• Workflow selection: Choose Traditional VOD or CMAF VOD for each upload. If CMAF VOD is configured as your property’s default upload workflow, it is preselected but does not prevent you from choosing Traditional VOD.
• Transcoding configs: A transcoding config defines the audio and video rendition ladder JWX creates from a source file. Every property receives a default CMAF VOD transcoding config. Work with your JWX representative to create custom configs, which can be set as the property default or applied to individual media items. If your property has multiple transcoding configs, select the config to use for the media item. 
• Video and audio management: View or delete video renditions for CMAF VOD media in the dashboard. You can also upload, view, or delete audio tracks and edit audio track metadata.
• Text tracks: Upload, create, or edit caption tracks for CMAF VOD media in the dashboard. You can also create chapter and metadata tracks.

NOTE: The property-level default upload workflow applies only to dashboard uploads. When uploading through the Management API v2, specify the workflow and transcoding config in the request.

DRM customers can now monitor license request health directly from the JWX dashboard. The new Monitoring section under Analytics provides self-service access to license volume, latency, and error data, helping you assess DRM performance and troubleshoot license-serving issues.

New Features

The DRM monitoring dashboard provides the following capabilities:

• License request monitoring: View license request volumes by DRM provider, including Widevine, FairPlay, and PlayReady.
• Response latency metrics: Monitor P90, P95, and P99 response latency to identify changes in license-serving performance.
• Time-period filters: View DRM data from the previous 6 hours, 24 hours, 7 days, or 30 days. Data intervals adjust automatically to the selected range.
• Error categorization: Distinguish 4xx responses, such as expired-token or geographic-restriction errors, from 5xx server failures. Response-code breakdowns provide additional detail to help identify the source of an issue.

NOTE: The DRM Monitoring section is visible only to accounts with DRM enabled.

JWX Ad Server now supports account-level ad operations across multiple properties, with a new Operations role, property targeting, and account-level analytics.

New Features

The new Operations role lets Ad Ops users manage JWX Ad Server across the account without granting broader Admin permissions:

• Operations role: Give users account-wide access to JWX Ad Server, Ad Serving analytics, and Ad Serving custom reports.
• Property targeting: Target all properties, selected properties, or all except selected properties with the new Properties setting in Web targeting rules.
• Account-level analytics: View Ad Serving data across all properties by default, filter analytics by Property or Ad format from the account-level experience.

❗ IMPORTANT: With this change, users who access Ad Serving through the Read Only, Editor, or Manager role will lose access immediately. Assign the Operations role to users who need continued access.

Live and VOD media now use the same trimming and clipping tool in the JWX dashboard. The unified controls, timeline, and workflow make it easier to create precise clips from live events or edit VOD media.

New Features

This update includes the following improvements:

• Unified trimming and clipping tool: Use the same dashboard tool to create clips from Broadcast Live and Instant Live events or trim and clip VOD media from the media details page.
• Frame-accurate clipping: Clips created from Broadcast Live, Instant Live, and CMAF VOD media now begin and end on the exact frames you select, helping you capture the intended moment without padding or re-cutting. 

• Expanded keyboard shortcuts: Keyboard shortcuts are now available for both live and VOD media. Use them to:

  • (New) Zoom in, zoom out, or reset the timeline zoom using =, -, and 0
  • Step one frame backward or forward using , and .
  • Jump five seconds backward or forward using ← and →
  • Set the in and out points using i and o
  • Play or pause using space
• In-tool shortcut legend: View a complete list of keyboard shortcuts directly within the trimming and clipping tool.

NOTE: Frame-accurate clipping and frame-step keyboard shortcuts apply only to Broadcast Live, Instant Live, and CMAF VOD media. Traditional VOD clips and trims remain segment-accurate.

Learn how to trim a video or create a clip, create a Broadcast Live clip, or create a clip from a past Instant Live event.